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Neenah, Wis.—In a world where employers are struggling to attract and retain top talent, Miron Construction Co., Inc. is taking a unique approach. Realizing that everyone has a dream, the company has committed to helping its employees fulfill theirs.

In the fall of 2012, Miron’s leadership team read the book, The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly and was so inspired, they decided to hire their own Dream Manager. The book illustrates how companies can achieve remarkable results when they invest in helping their employees bring their personal dreams to life. The goal of the fictional company detailed in the book was to decrease turnover and increase employee engagement, so they decided to investigate what really drove their employees. What they discovered surprised them, that the key to motivation is the fulfillment of crucial personal dreams. By helping employees become the best version of themselves, employees, in turn, brought the company itself to new heights.

Obviously setting out to hire a Dream Manager, or in Miron’s case, a Dream Coach, is no easy undertaking. There was no standard job description and the company’s leadership team knew it was going to take a special individual to develop trust and rapport with its employees. The company was looking for someone to develop and implement the Dream Project program and serve as a resource to help employees set out to achieve their personal dreams. The individual would be required to develop and brand a program unique to Miron, facilitate regular sessions with participants, provide leadership for the program, share successes and seek out partners to help support the program.

After a lengthy search, Carrie Garczynski was hired to fill the position. Carrie was a communications and development professional with a successful track record in project management and business development, as well as in identifying, developing and launching customized training programs and services. Most recently, she was employed by Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. but previously owned and operated Centric Fusion, a customer experience and business relationship development training and consulting business, specializing in organizational development and growth. Carrie is a graduate of UW-Stout and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Retail Merchandising & Management and a Master’s Degree in Corporate Training and Resource Development.

Over the past few months, Carrie, in conjunction with the Dream Team (a select group of Miron employees serving in an advisory role) has created and implemented Miron’s Dream Project program (with tools labeled after construction industry terms: Dream Foundation, Dream Blueprint, Dream Punch List, Schematic Concept, etc.). The program focuses on a holistic approach to personal development. Employees schedule one-on-one meetings with Carrie to discuss their dreams and jointly chart a course for achieving them. Dreams can be short- or long-term, but must be personal, rather than professional in nature. Dreams may entail a desire to run a marathon, overcome a fear of flying, pay off credit card debt or write a book. The program itself is completely voluntary and is confidential if the employee chooses.

Thirty Miron employees are currently enrolled in the program. To learn more about this unique program first-hand, watch this brief video of Miron’s Dream Coach. A few project participants have even shared their stories via video: Craig Franda, Melissa Voigt, Rob Chartier and Tony Creten.

Carrie Garczynski